Steve's blog June 2024

Photo - Discover Sailing at Tamesis Club, credit Chris Wade

Conferences and Development Workshops

As this blog goes to press I'm on my way to check out a potential venue for our next regional conference which will be on 24 November, so please save the date. We're inviting clubs, Sailability providers, class associations, charities and club-based training centres to join us again in autumn for a series of free conferences and development workshops. Find out more 

Online booking will be launched in September. These are your events so please help us to shape them by emailing to tell us which topics you would like to see on the agenda this year.

Senior Instructor Course

There's a Senior Instructor Course at Whitstable Yacht Club on 2-5 September. This will cover the role of a Senior Instructor, preparation and delivery of sessions, course and centre management, powerboat handling in a teaching environment and the RYA Sailing Schemes. Find out more and book

Courses outside our region which you may be prepared to travel to:

• 20-21 July Race Coach Level 2 at Royal Lymington YC 
• 13-16 June Windsurf Senior Instructor Course at Burton SC 
• 3, 10 and 17 September Regional Race Officer Course via Zoom 

Junior Open Meeting

The Regional Junior Championships were cancelled as part of the review of the RYA Talent Pathway mentioned below in Views from the Chair, but if you'd hoped to take part, or even if you hadn't, why not enter the Queen Mary Junior Open on 23 June. It offers a competitive day of racing against other juniors from the region, 4 races, on water coaching and a barbecue. Find out more and enter 

Discover Sailing

Discover Sailing is up and running with events at around 20 clubs and centres in our region. If you would like to try sailing for the first time, or if you've sailed before and would like to return to the sport, then try a Discover Sailing event at a club near you. Find out more 

We welcome stories and photos about your club's Discover Sailing day and will put them on the RYA web site and social media, so please e-mail them to us.

Social media

It's been a great month for our social media with short videos from Felpham and Upper Thames Sailing Clubs attracting over 50000 views between them. Wimbledon Park centre manager Erica Bishop told us about working at a busy centre in central London and how to get opportunities in the marine industry. And there's lots of useful information about upcoming events, funding, conferences, courses, Discover Sailing and much more.

So if you don't already, please follow us on Facebook  or X  and send us your short videos or photos. 

Views from the Chair…..

Our Regional Team Chair Roger Belton writes......

Water Quality is something that affects all of us in the pursuit of our interests in many different ways, so I was very pleased to see that the RYA has initiated and led a new initiative with seven National Governing Bodies to form the "Clean Water Alliance". Find out more 

The RYA has a respected and strong corporate voice but by joining together with other governing bodies we can call for action with a much louder voice.

The RYA Talent Pathway has had tremendous historic success in bringing home Olympic medals. Following a strategic review in the latter half of 2023 the Talent Pathway is evolving. Nick Scott, RYA Racing Director, said: "The intention with this review was to ensure that we, collectively, continue to better find, develop and retain talented young sailors; finding ways to increase affordability and accessibility in our sport, increase engagement and improve youth performance. With that in mind, we intend to organise a series of public webinars, starting in June, to help articulate the changes in our pathway." I am looking forward to hearing more detail about the way forward and how our young sailors can get enthused to excel at the sport we love.

As a dinghy sailor I don't use digital navigation charts at all, but as a skipper and occasional walker hard copy maps and charts are definitely my thing. But with the sun about to set on some paper charts, the RYA has taken a closer look at which skills should be developed and which may become redundant as we move forward. Find out more about passage planning in the digital age

However in my professional life I have been very interested in systems integrity, particularly in civil & military, aerospace and maritime systems. That perspective informs me that I would never set off reliant on only one electronic source of position information. Carrying two different independent systems seems like a very good idea to me.

News round up

• Record turnout for London and South East Finding Funding webinar 
• Tideway announces recipients of extra Active Thames funding 
• Discover Sailing at Gravesend Sailing Club 
• Arun Youth Aqua Centre launches crowdfunding campaign to help it keep afloat 
• A record gathering of commodores at Felpham Sailing Club? 
• Meet the London and South East regional team - Paul Outram 

Share your stories

We're always looking for stories to pop on our web site and send to your local media, and snippets (two or three sentences) to promote your events or show what you've been doing on our social media, with photos (landscape format) and links. Or why not send us a short video (15-100 seconds, landscape format) done in one take on your 'phone to share on our social media. All should have some RYA/regional connection. Other clubs can enjoy your achievements and benefit from your experience. Send us your story